In January 2013, the French VAT authorities indicated that French VAT registered companies from certain non-EU countries would no longer have to appoint a fiscal representative. It has recently increased the list of countries participating in this initiative.

Eliminating French VAT fiscal representative requirement

France still requires non-EU companies to appoint a VAT fiscal representative if they are registered for French VAT as a non-resident trader. This should be a tax resident in France, who becomes responsible for all reporting and tax filings. In case of a default, the tax authorities may hold the representative financially responsible for any losses.

List of French tax mutual assistance countries grows

In the 2012 Finance Bill, France introduced an exemption to the above fiscal representative obligation. If a company came from one of a short list of countries with which France had signed a tax mutual assistance agreement, then the obligation would be dropped. These type of agreements give France and the other countries the right to use each other’s tax authorities to help recover missing tax or VAT payments. They are used extensively within the EU which is why most countries do not require the appointment of a fiscal representative for companies from other EU member states.

The list of participating non-EU countries is now in the French scheme are: Argentina; Australia; Azerbaijan; Georgia; Iceland; Mexico; Moldavia; Norway; and Korea.

VP Global Indirect Tax

Richard Asquith

VP Global Indirect TaxRichard Asquith

Richard Asquith is VP Global Indirect Tax at Avalara, helping businesses understand their compliance obligations as they grow globally. He is part of the European leadership team which this year won International Tax Review's Tax Technology Firm of the Year. Richard qualified as an accountant with KPMG in the UK, and went on to work in Hungary, Russia and France with EY.